


Dark before dawn

by Darkstar89



Category: Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-30
Updated: 2018-04-30
Packaged: 2019-04-29 23:51:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,784
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14483949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Darkstar89/pseuds/Darkstar89
Summary: Arielle Cousland has been through a lot. So has Zevran, the assassin hired to kill her. When she spares him, she doesn't realize that he may be the one to save her.





	Dark before dawn

**Author's Note:**

> My first fic, so be kind. Not entirely canon.  
> Zevran is not in the first chapter.

Arielle entered the camp in a daze. Her parents were dead. Dairren was dead. Oriana and Oren were dead. Ser Gilmore was dead. Even her childhood tutor, Aldous, was dead. Arl Howe had betrayed them and her family and everyone she had cared about was either dead or missing.

She was with Duncan now. About to become a Grey Warden. Duncan had helped her escape the castle, but in exchange she was sworn to join the Grey Wardens. She could scarcely believe how her life had changed in the last couple of days. She had been so carefree then. Now, she wanted revenge for all of them. Arl Howe would pay.

King Cailan greeted them when they arrived. Arielle thought the King ill-prepared for a serious battle. He seemed to want to play hero, while his general, Teyrn Loghain, planned the strategy. 

Arielle had never been good at dealing with her feelings. She probably would have given it more thought, but what the soldier was doing between her legs suddenly became much more interesting. “Oh!” she cried out as his tongue worked her clit. She was so close.

He snickered and moved up her body, his erection pressed against her. He kissed her breasts, his hands running up her body. She knew she was being self-destructive. She had only met him maybe an hour ago. She didn’t even know his name.

He had been shamelessly hitting on a blonde woman, who was having none of it. Arielle had decided she could use the distraction and had made the soldier an offer. He hadn’t refused. And now they were here, in the camp, at the edge of the Wilds fucking in the bushes. She’d really needed this. She’d been with no one since Dairren. Sweet Dairren, who’d fucked her and then died.

She kissed the soldier. Hard. Pressing herself against him, trying to feel as much of him as possible. He grunted at the force of her touch. She rolled him onto his back, straddling him. She lifted herself over his erection, guiding him into her. 

She rode him hard and fast, panting and grinding against the length of him. He filled her, stretched her. She felt less empty with him inside her. 

She quickened her pace as he tried thrusting into her. He groaned helplessly as she rode him, unable to do anything but slide his hands around her and hold on. She came in a gush over him, breathing hard. He came a moment later, thoroughly worn out.

When she caught her breath, she stood and dressed herself, barely glancing at him.

“I need to meet someone, so I’ll just see you later” she said over her shoulder as she left the naked man in the bushes.

\------------------------------

“You know, one good thing about the Blight is how it brings people together!”

Alistair grinned at her. Arielle just stared at him. His grin faded. “Uh, you must be Duncan’s new recruit?” he asked with some hesitation.

“Yes, I’m Arielle.” She replied. Alistair was young, no older than she. He was handsome, with strawberry blonde hair, and warm amber eyes. He reminded her a little of a puppy with his enthusiasm. She wondered if any of them would survive the coming battle. She decided maybe she didn’t care.

“Right, that was the name!” he said brightly. “Tell me, have you ever seen a darkspawn before?”

\------------------------------------

Arielle, Daveth, Jory, and Alistair made it back to camp safely, darkspawn blood vials and treaties in hand. Arielle had spent almost the entire trip into the Wilds avoiding Daveth. 

She hadn’t realized that the soldier she had used as a distraction was a fellow Grey Warden recruit. He hadn’t said anything about their activities in the bushes, and she had avoided conversation with him as much as possible. She caught him staring at her a few times, but he always looked quickly away. Shit.

She hoped her impulsive actions wouldn’t come back to bite her. She was going to have to fight darkspawn soon enough and she needed to be able to rely on Daveth.

Darkspawn. Her first time seeing one up close and she had frozen in place. Alistair had knocked it down with his shield, startling her out of her stupor. She’d managed to kill a few after that with her daggers, her quick movements allowing her to make critical stabs to their backs. 

Alistair was a capable fighter, despite her initial judgement of him. He was young, certainly, but he was well trained. He’d mentioned to her that he was trained to be a Templar, but had become a Grey Warden before completing his initiation into the Templar Order.

Their second task assigned by Duncan, was to retrieve some Grey Warden treaties hidden in a secure cache. They’d fought their way to the location where the Grey Warden treaties had been stashed for safe-keeping; agreements binding elves, dwarves, mages, and others to assist Grey Wardens in the event of a Blight.

They had arrived at the location to find a broken, empty vault. Then Morrigan had emerged from hiding. 

Daveth had loudly proclaimed her a Witch of the Wilds, while Alistair antagonized her with accusations of stealing the treaties. Arielle shushed them both in irritation. 

Once she actually spoke to Morrigan, they learned the treaties were with Morrigan’s mother. Arielle asked if they could meet Morrigan’s mother, and Morrigan smiled. “A sensible request, I like you.”

Morrigan led them to her mother’s home, hidden deep in the Wilds. Morrigan’s mother had returned the treaties to Arielle, and provided a warning that the darkspawn threat was greater than they realized. She didn’t elaborate. The whole encounter had left Arielle with a feeling of disquiet. 

Alistair led them back to Duncan’s bonfire in the camp. Duncan asked if they were ready to begin the joining ritual. Arielle swallowed her fear and nodded. The others seemed nervous. Even Alistair. She wondered at that. He’d already been through the ritual, so if he was nervous…

Daveth went first. He drank from the chalice Duncan offered. He seemed to shrug it off at first, but she watched in horror as he started clawing at his throat. It didn’t last more than a few moments and then he fell to the ground, dead.

Jory, who was offered the chalice next, backed away. His eyes were wide and he started babbling about how unfair it all was and he needed to get back home to his pregnant wife. A hard look crossed Duncan’s face. He pulled out his knife.

Arielle could only watch in horror as Duncan killed Ser Jory in front of her. Duncan wiped his dagger on a cloth before putting it back in his sheath.

Duncan turned to her. “It is your turn now,” he said and offered the chalice to her.

She had no choice. Not really. It was either drink and take her chances, or Duncan would kill her without hesitation. She drank. Either she’d die now, or she’d live to see her vengeance on Arl Howe.

She woke on the ground, a headache pounding in her temples. The concerned faces of Duncan and Alistair hovered over her. Duncan offered her a hand and helped her to her feet. Alistair gave her a sad look. “At least one of you survived,” he said with a sad smile.

\------------------------------

Alistair and Arielle ran towards the Tower of Ishal. The battle was beginning in the valley below, and they were tasked with lighting the beacon to signal Loghain’s men to advance. Neither Arielle or Alistair wanted to do this job. They wanted to be in the battle below, with the rest of the Grey Wardens. 

Duncan had brooked no argument from either of them, saying that the King had insisted that Alistair and Arielle were to be the ones to light the beacon in the Tower of Ishal.

When they reached the Tower, a couple of soldiers ran out screaming about darkspawn. Arielle felt something in her belly drop. She looked to Alistair and found him looking back at her. She set her face into a look of resolve and saw that look mirrored on Alistair’s face. It was up to them. Darkspawn were the responsibility of Grey Wardens. That meant the two of them now.

They ran into the Tower, ready to fight their way to the beacon.

\---------------------------

Arielle woke with a start. She’d been having a nightmare. Darkspawn overrunning her and Alistair in the Tower of Ishal. She realized she was not alone. Morrigan was watching her. “You’re finally awake. Good, mother wants to speak with you,” she said.

After asking Morrigan what had happened and getting no good news, Arielle walked outside the hut to see Alistair pacing anxiously outside. A haunted look was on his face, which he carefully hid when he saw her. Relief replaced the anxiety. “You! You’re alive. Thank the Maker!”

Arielle felt numb. This couldn’t be real. Surely Duncan and the King were alive somewhere and would be looking for them. “I’m fine. Thank you for your concern, Alistair,” she said.

The haunted look was back on his face. “How could this have happened? Why would Loghain do this?!”

“Why indeed?” Flemeth responded. 

Arielle jumped. She hadn’t even realized Flemeth was there. Morrigan had filled Arielle in about Loghain abandoning the field instead of fighting alongside King Cailan and the Grey Wardens. The battle at Ostagar had been a slaughter. King Cailan and Duncan had both perished, along with all the other Grey Wardens. Loghain had never responded to the beacon.

Arielle and Alistair were the only surviving Grey Wardens. Alistair had only been a Warden for 6 months, and she only a day.

\----------------------------

They had decided to make their first stop in Lothering, a small village to the north of the Wilds. Morrigan was accompanying them, a fact that she seemed to resent, but had agreed to nonetheless. Morrigan was a mage, an apostate, which made Alistair uncomfortable. Arielle had convinced him that they needed all the help they could get and that Templars were the least of their concerns in the face of a Blight. He had reluctantly agreed.

They set camp just south of Lothering the first night. Arielle dreamed of a dragon, screeching in darkness. She woke with a start. Alistair spoke quietly, “Did you have a nightmare?”

He was sitting beside the campfire, watching the flames.

Arielle told him about her dream. He looked at her, a sympathetic look on his face. “They were scary for me at first too. Eventually, you can learn to control them. I’ve heard it’s worse during a Blight though.”

“Is the dragon the Archdemon?” Arielle asked. She didn’t tell him the dragon nightmare was a welcome respite from her other nightmares lately.

“It looks like a dragon. But yes, that’s the Archdemon. I guess this really is a Blight. I wanted to tell you about the dreams because I saw you thrashing about.” Alistair sighed.

“Well, thanks for telling me about the dreams, Alistair.” Arielle gave him a small smile.

“That’s what I’m here for: bad news and witty one liners!” he quipped. She could only shake her head, but she did feel better. Alistair had a strange irrepressible nature to him that made her feel better.

They had picked up two more allies in Lothering. Leliana, a Chantry sister who was a surprisingly skilled fighter, and Sten, a qunari warrior of few words.

They’d recruited Leliana to their cause when she had helped them fight off some of Loghain’s men, who had been sent to hunt down any surviving Grey Wardens. Loghain had been spreading the lie that the Grey Wardens had betrayed the King at Ostagar, and that they were traitors to Ferelden. It infuriated both Arielle and Alistair to hear of Loghain’s lies, but they were powerless to do much about it.

They had found Sten locked in a cage. When they found him, Arielle had been fascinated by him. He was very large, obviously powerful. Her curiosity led her to speak with him. When she found out his crime, she’d felt her breath start coming in shallow gasps, as if she couldn’t catch her breath. Morrigan had pulled her away, while Alistair looked on with concern on his face. He had stayed near Sten’s cage, with Leliana, while Morrigan looked after Arielle.

“A curious reaction,” Morrigan noted. “Try to breathe on my count. In… out… in… out…”

Arielle followed the sound of Morrigan’s voice, slowing her breathing gradually. She was shaking, tears on her cheeks. She wiped them away with her sleeve. Morrigan just sat and watched her, saying nothing. Morrigan offered her a potion from her pouch, a mild elfroot concoction to calm her nerves. Arielle gave her a grateful look.

“Thanks, Morrigan. I don’t know what happened back there…” Arielle wasn’t sure what had happened to her.

“Mmm. You had a strong reaction to Sten when he mentioned his crime. I suspect you may have further reactions if you do not deal with the problem.”

“Problem?” Arielle said, confused at Morrigan’s suggestion. She had asked Sten what he’d done. Sten had told her that he’d killed a farmer and his family, including the children. That’s when she’d started having trouble catching her breath. She’d panicked.

“You have lost much, I suspect. More than you’ve let on. Alistair is coping better than you are, because as much as he whines, he is dealing with his feelings. Annoying as it is. You have not.” Morrigan’s gaze was unrelenting.

“I don’t have time to deal with my feelings. I need to fight an Archdemon!”

“Not alone, you don’t. You have allies. Only a fool takes on a battle like this alone. You must find a way to deal with this.” Morrigan stood. “You don’t have to tell your secrets now. Best we move on, lest you decide to deal with your feelings by stabbing me with your daggers.”

Arielle was glaring at Morrigan. She stood, ready to retort, but realized she had nothing to say. She stalked back to Alistair and Leliana.

“All right?” Alistair was looking at her warily. She hated that look.

“I’m fine,” Arielle said through gritted teeth. “Let’s just go.”

Alistair shot an inquisitive look at Morrigan. Arielle glared at him. “I said I’m fine, Alistair! Drop. It.”

Leliana looked from Arielle, to Morrigan, to Alistair, who looked like he’d been slapped. “Perhaps we should let Sten out and get going?”

Arielle turned her glare to Leliana. “Let’s go,” was all she said. She was still feeling shaky and uncertain. She just wanted to be alone.

\-------------------------------------

Arielle moaned as Dairren’s tongue swirled over her clit. He was really very good at this. She writhed as he slipped a finger inside her. She felt the heat building in her, a pressure growing as she got closer to climax.

Dairren slipped a second finger inside and started sliding them in and out of her, while he began sucking at her with his mouth. She was close to the edge and her fingers dug into the sheets on her bed. Her spine bowed and she was breathing hard. “Maker, I’m so close!” she cried.

Dairren pulled his fingers out of her and crawled over her. He positioned himself on top of her, teasing her with the tip of his cock. She whimpered. He chuckled. She used her hand to grip his shaft and direct it to her entrance. He was hot and hard in her hand. When he made no immediate move to enter her, she stroked him quickly and firmly. He sighed in pleasure.

When she loosened her grip on him, he kissed her and thrust himself into her. She gasped. He reared up to get a better angle, moving deeper inside her. He felt so good. So warm. So hard. 

She closed her eyes, just feeling the sensation of his cock inside her, pushing and stretching her. His rhythm changed slightly and she knew he was going to come. 

She opened her eyes to look at him. She enjoyed watching her lovers come, their expressions often sweet and endearing. Dairren’s eyes were closed, his jaw slack. He was just feeling the moment, like she had been a moment earlier.

She ran her hands over his chest as he continued thrusting into her. An arrowhead pierced his chest, and he moaned. Blood began to drip from the wound. 

Dairren was still thrusting into her. He opened his eyes and smiled at her, blood leaking from the side of his mouth. “Maker, you are beautiful!”

A second arrow pierced his left eye. “I’m coming!” he cried out. Her own orgasm rocked through her body as she woke, screaming.


End file.
